In the data-driven world we live in, it has become a basic necessity to have access to the right amount of data all the time.
Most of the famous data visualization tools like Tableau, SAP Analytics Cloud, Qlikview have already started providing their customers with Mobile Apps for their application.
So,It is incredibly important to provide quick insights to users through mobile dashboards with as less a number of clicks as possible.
Unlike designing the dashboard in a desktop, Mobile reports require a special level of attention as there is limited space available on the mobile screen. Few best practices to be considered:
1. Restrict the number of bars to be shown on a bar chart to max 5 or 6 which means it is always good to use a ranking option (Top 5 or Bottom 5) to get the desired default view.
2. Always try to display the information through charts rather than using tables, until unless it is unavoidable.
3. Use colors which are not too bright or not too dull, something like Green, Blue, Black etc. This would not cause much strain to eyes of the viewer, which is not the case with a desktop or a laptop where there is a fair amount of distance between the screen and the user.
4. It is always a best practice to show only aggregated information in the mobile dashboard, as showing lots of details would only make the chart/table look cumbersome.
5. Try to limit the number of filters or variables which requires input from users to maximum 4. Anything beyond this would only test the patience of the user ;)
6. It is also not a best practice to use the drill-down and roll-up operations way too often in charts, provide these options only where it's absolutely necessary to have a hierarchical view.
7. Consider not using complex charts like Geographical maps, Word clouds etc. These would only make the dashboard less user interactive, as it requires a lot of space and longer loading time.
8. When having multiple pages or tabs in the mobile dashboard, try to configure the loading of charts limited to the page currently displayed to the user, rather than loading all the pages at once.
9. So, It is incredibly important to provide quick insights to users through mobile dashboards with as less a number of clicks as possible.e mobile and also tend to be less user friendly.
10. The most important of all is to choose the right fonts, font size to be used in the charts. Right size and text will make the information more readable and also helps to effectively organize the insights in the limited space available on the mobile screen.
Happy Dashboarding!
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